223 rem recipe advice

rebrousse_poil

rebrousse_poil

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I will try my new Tikka T3 Lite (1-8 twist) this weekend and I need some good load advices (I've never reloaded for that caliber before):

-What are your classics with Varget and 55gr Hornady V-Max.

-Same question with 75gr Berger VLD Target.

thank you
 
Try my Varget load. 77 Gr Sierra Match King, Federal 205 Match primer, 24.2 gr Varget. Federal brass, 2815 fps from Savage 24" barrel 1:9 twist. I had the best results with this load. Shot better than the 69 gr SMK, and the 75 gr A-Max. Also shot better than the 70 gr Berger. YMMV of course.
 
My 223 go to load is:

26gr varget
70gr Bergers
CCI BR-2 Pimers
Running just a touch over 3000fps
Accuracy is running .25-.3 MOA

This load is running .005 off the lands and may not be safe in all rifles, but my rifle loves it.

I do shoot 50gr v-max as well over 28gr CFE-223, but not often.

Cheers
Jordan
 
26.5 gr CFE-223
55gr remington MC-FMJ-BT
KVB223 primers
3000 -3015 fps
results .185"- .312" MOA best 500yds 1 7/8"- 2.5" (5shot)
T-3, 26" HB VSS, 10x40x60, illuminated, external turrets
 
Thanks for the reply. The 8208 will be for sure my next purchase for lighter bullets.

As for the berger 75 gr vld bullets, I sent an email to berger for the min and max loads with varget powder. Answer: 20,5gr - 22,7gr
A lot seems to run 75gr+ bullet with 23-24 and even 25gr of varget. According to hodgdon data with 75gr jlk vld bullet and varget, the min and max load:22,5gr - 25,0gr...Whom should I trust?
 
24 gr. Varget under a 75 grain Amax shoots very well for me. No pressure signs. 25 grains under 77 grain SMKs were cratering badly.
 
rebrousse_poil said:
A lot seems to run 75gr+ bullet with 23-24 and even 25gr of varget. According to hodgdon data with 75gr jlk vld bullet and varget, the min and max load:22,5gr - 25,0gr...Whom should I trust?
Click to expand...

Whoa, full stop.
That's not how reloading works, you don't trust anything from anybody.
Yes, reloading is simply pouring powder in a case, topped with a bullet. Load Development is making sure that reload won't blow up your rifle, or your face.
Pick your powder/bullet combo, start with min loads, work your way up watching for pressure signs.
The only person you can trust is yourself. With that, the only person you can blame is yourself.
 
9x19p said:
Whoa, full stop.
That's not how reloading works, you don't trust anything from anybody.
Yes, reloading is simply pouring powder in a case, topped with a bullet. Load Development is making sure that reload won't blow up your rifle, or your face.
Pick your powder/bullet combo, start with min loads, work your way up watching for pressure signs.
The only person you can trust is yourself. With that, the only person you can blame is yourself.
Click to expand...

^^^ exactly... Some rifles take only a fraction over a STARTING load, with pressure signs all over. Some other rifles take quite a bit over what is in loading manual. You can't just take somebody's recipe and run with it.
 
What I was saying is for the same bullet load development, should I trust Berger or Hodgdon load data? They seems in contradiction...
 
IMHO you should start with the Berger data. Those guys have done a TON of research with their bullets. When working with 70gr. VLD I started with Berger's min. charge, but ended up at 24.9 grs Varget. There were a lot of close accuracy nodes .2 grs apart, I had to refine those to .1 gr. increments and test at 200 yds. I have found these bullets to be less than satisfactory at 100. Thats about as hard as I want to push that bullet, 75gr. Would be a bit less obviously.

FWIW, VLDs are the most difficult bullet I've worked with, but I ended up finding an awesome load. Mine also like .010 jam, and are still a tad compressed.

Make sure to use a good bullet comparator for seating depth, VLDs are very picky with ogive length.
 
My 1:9" Savage shoots 55gr. V-Max over 25gr. of Varget VERY well. It shoots 53gr. V-Max just a little tighter, so that's what I feed the groundhogs. :)
 
22lr said:
^^^ exactly... Some rifles take only a fraction over a STARTING load, with pressure signs all over. Some other rifles take quite a bit over what is in loading manual. You can't just take somebody's recipe and run with it.
Click to expand...


one thing folks don't seem to notice is, chamber sizes are different, as are brass sizes... a "Large" chamber, with a small amount of brass in the cartridge, gives a large chamber volume, and vice, a "Tight" chamber with a cartridge that has a lot of brass (heavy case) will make the combustion chamber smaller.

the same powder charge will make more pressure in the smaller combustion chamber, and if the load is max for the "large" it will be OVER for the "tight"

hence the warning of starting LOW and work up. Even STARTING loads can be over in a Tight chamber with heavy brass
 
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